


A Drop of Hunny

by danielnelsen



Series: Danny Nelsen [7]
Category: Hollywood U: Rising Stars
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-03-16 18:04:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3497771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danielnelsen/pseuds/danielnelsen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The date quests with Thomas Hunt rewritten from his perspective, as well as what happens between the dates.<br/>(So far: On the Hunt, The Reluctant Professor)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lecture

**Author's Note:**

> In the parts that are based on the quests, the dialogue is directly from the game.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the start of the first date; On the Hunt

It was a Friday afternoon at Hollywood University and Thomas was relieved that it was his final class of the week; a lecture on the difficulty of realistically portraying love in film and the decline of the romantic comedy genre. He preferred lectures to more interactive classes and workshops because he knew his content well enough to just talk. He didn’t have to think too hard about what he was saying, and watching the group of students trying desperately to write down everything he said was comforting in a way. As he spoke about fictional relationship cliches, he looked around the room and, as they always did, his eyes settled on Danny. The young man was having a whispered conversation with Addison and the two of them were giggling far too much for Thomas’ liking. He scowled and looked away, returning to his lecture, but was disturbed a few seconds later by a louder laugh from Danny. He gave a small sigh, before glaring at the grinning director.

“Danny!” he frowned. “Is something amusing? Perhaps you’d like to finish off my lecture on the difficulty of realistically portraying love?”

As he spoke, Danny’s grin fell slightly. “Sorry, Professor!” he said quickly, although his smile remained. He repositioned his pen over the paper in front of him and Thomas resumed his lecture, trying not to think about how sweet Danny’s laugh sounded and how cute he was when he smiled.

As his lecture drew to a close, he glanced around at his students again and noticed that Danny didn’t seem to be concentrating too hard on his words. While the rest of the class was still writing frantically, he seemed to be lazily scribbling at the side of his page and staring into space, his smile still fixed on his face.

“Class dismissed,” Thomas announced as he finished his lecture, and the students all scrambled to pack up their belongings and push to the door. “Except for Danny,” he added quickly. “Come see me. We need to talk.”

Hopefully reprimanding Danny would get him to actually pay attention. Then maybe he wouldn’t spend all his classes talking and distracting Thomas with his damned laugh. He sat down at his desk to scribble his own notes from the lesson, and watched Danny wave goodbye to Addison and stand awkwardly at the side of the room while his classmates left. The door swung closed behind them and Danny slowly walked up to Thomas’ desk.

“Just a second, Danny,” he muttered as he finished his writing, trying his hardest not to look up at the man. Not yet.

Danny’s voice broke the silence after a few seconds. “A masquerade ball, huh? That sounds very romantic.”

Thomas groaned to himself. He’d almost forgotten about the ball he was attending that evening. He generally took no delight in charity functions, especially balls. He looked up to see Danny eyeing the ticket for the event that he’d left in the corner of his desk. Neatly aligning his papers, he placed them to the side and glared at Danny, thinking about his choice of words. Sure, he’d just given a lecture about romance, but there was no reason a masquerade ball would be inherently romantic.

“Only someone delusional looks for love at a charity masquerade ball,” he replied. “This is merely an obligation.”

“So… no date, then?” He wasn’t smirking, but he sounded like he should be.

Thomas shifted slightly in his seat. He found it difficult enough being alone in a closed room with Danny, let alone discussing _romance_ of all things. “A date would require me to spend the entire evening there. I can’t imagine anything worse,” he said, almost honestly. He would favour spending the evening with a date over spending anymore time with Danny than absolutely necessary. “I’ll be leaving as soon as I’ve made my donation to the cause.” His frown deepened. “But I didn’t call you up here to discuss my social calendar, Danny. I wanted to talk about your behaviour in class.”

Danny looked affronted. “But I was just—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Thomas interrupted. “It is unacceptable to disrupt my lecture. Save your chit chat for your own time, understand?” _And your laughter._

“Yes, Professor.”

He looked satisfyingly ashamed, so Thomas dismissed him with a, “Good. You can go now.”

He watched Danny turn and walk to the door, opening it and slipping out. A few seconds later, it fell closed again, and Thomas was left alone in the silence of the classroom.

* * *

That evening, Thomas arrived at the masquerade ball in sharp black suit and took a mask from the footman at the door. He immediately located and made his way over to the bar, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he sat down, and ordering a scotch from the over-enthusiastic bartender. He sighed heavily, listening to the clink of ice against glass as he swirled his drink around absently. Because he was the only person at the bar, the bartender tried and failed to start up a conversation with him. Giving up, she still informed him that he should put his mask on and he sullenly heeded her advice. He glanced around the room of laughing guests - most of them couples - and scowled, fastening his navy blue mask over his eyes.

He would have to hang around for a while longer before he could make his donation, then leave. As he sipped his scotch, he glanced up at a nearby clock, trying to work out how soon he could leave without seeming too rude. Before he could make a decision, he noticed someone slip onto the barstool next to his out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned to find a young man in a well-fitted black tuxedo and bowtie looking at him through an equally black mask with gold trim. The strings of the mask were tied in the man’s styled brown hair and his cheeky smile provided an air of confidence. A quick glance suggested to Thomas that the man was in good shape; he had a slight build, but still looked muscular, and Thomas couldn’t help thinking that he looked far more attractive than most other people in the room, as far as he could tell from his first impression.

“You look like you could use some company,” the man said in an even tone that only added to a growing familiarity in the back of Thomas’ mind.

“Depends on whose company it is,” he replied warily, trying to think of who the man reminded him of.

The stranger’s lips quirked up in a half-smile, half-smirk. “You’re in luck. It’s mine.”

Thomas sighed. The last thing he wanted was to get pulled into a conversation that might delay his leaving the ball. “I have no interest in socialising with a complete stranger,” he informed the man, whose smile grew.

“You don’t mince words, do you?”

Thomas frowned. “I prefer to be honest.” That was bound to get rid of him. He didn’t care that the stranger was attractive. What he could see of his face made him look a little too young for him, anyway, and besides, he’d found himself in uncomfortable situations before by carelessly indulging in strangers based on their looks. Just like Danny…  _Ah_. That’s who the man reminded him of. There was something about the man’s posture and expression that reminded him too much of the director, not to mention the tone of his voice and his general build. Thomas shuddered slightly. Great, now he was seeing Danny in random strangers. He thought about how he’d immediately decided this man was attractive, and felt slightly uneasy. He knew that Danny was well above average in his looks, but it was starting to dawn on him that he probably had a type and Danny fit it perfectly. As did this mysterious stranger, who insisted on continuing their conversation.

“I like that,” he said, his voice deepening ever so slightly and it took Thomas a second to remember what they’d been talking about. Yes, his honesty.

“Are you sure?” he shot back. “Because I can be very honest.”

The man leant casually against the bar. “Honesty’s refreshing. One thing I’ve learned since I’ve been here… too many people are willing to lie to your face or cheat to get ahead.”

Thomas let himself smile a little. At least the man didn’t sound too stupid.

“And you’re not one of them?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet at least.”

Beginning to become intrigued by the man, Thomas decided that maybe a small amount of conversation wouldn’t be too bad a thing. “So, you do want to get ahead?” he continued.

“I want to be a household name…” the stranger nodded, “…to be a famous director!”

Thomas raised an eyebrow, unable to completely separate the images of Danny and the stranger. “Here’s some more truth for you… everyone here wants to be something. But not everyone here is going to succeed.”

Contrary to his expectation, the man didn’t look particularly disheartened by his words. “I will,” he said simply.

Thomas sighed, the man’s words reminding himself of his own past. He’d been that confident in the future of his Hollywood career at one point. “You’re brash, naive, and overly confident. I used to be that way, before…” He caught himself in time to regain his composure. “…ahem. Excuse me.” He turned away from the man to take another sip of his scotch. Maybe he could spend just a little more time getting to know the man. “I’m Thomas,” he introduced himself, turning back. “And you are?”

The man hesitated slightly, although his confidence didn’t waver. “…someone who doesn’t like to reveal all his secrets.” He grinned. “It’s a masquerade ball, after all.”

“You don’t have to be so coy,” Thomas scowled, a little irritated that the man hadn’t at least given his name, like he had. He gave a small shake of his head. “I don’t need a name to figure out who you are. Or anyone in this room, for that matter.”

The slight narrowing of the stranger’s eyes showed his curiosity. “But they’re all wearing masks. How do you know who anyone is?”

Thomas looked out at the room, trying to spot anyone he recognised. “Years spent analysing the nuances of physicality and behaviour,” he explained, his gaze centering on a man and a woman near the middle of the room. “For example, that woman over there in the pink dress is Paris Hilton…”

“How—” the man began, but Thomas cut him off.

“Her distinctive laugh. And the man next to her is Daniel Craig. He has a slight limp from his injury on the set of ‘Spectre’,” he continued.

“Those are easy,” the stranger shrugged, although his eyes betrayed his astonishment. “Let’s give you a harder challenge…”

Thomas smiled. “I’m up for it.”

“Me,” the stranger said firmly. “Do you know who I am?”

Too many thoughts of Danny filled his mind, messing with any other attributes that the man might have to reveal his identity. “I’ve been wondering that since the moment you arrived,” he answered honestly. “Something about you is familiar, almost  _loathsome_ , yet at the same time, forgive me, attractive.” Of course, this man seemed far more cultured than Danny. His student had barely any charm and would hardly be able to hold such a sophisticated conversation. But he  _still_  couldn’t shake the thought.

The man chuckled. “‘Cause that was the insulting part…”

“You’re not going to tell me who you are, are you?” Thomas asked, almost starting to enjoy himself.

The man shrugged. “Maybe at the end of the night. Unless you’re planning on leaving early…?”

Thomas frowned. He was too interested in the stranger to possibly leave without finding out his identity. “No,” he said quickly. “No, I’m not.”


	2. The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter continues the first date; On the Hunt

As he finished speaking, the orchestra started playing a slower song and the man’s smile softened.

“We should dance,” he suggested, offering his hand to Thomas.

“Oh no.” He shook his head, almost smirking. “I don’t dance with just anyone.”

The stranger’s smile didn’t falter. “No one’s good enough to dance with you, is that it?” He didn’t sound disappointed. On the contrary. He seemed slightly impressed.

“That’s precisely it,” Thomas replied, his face composed.

The man slipped off his barstool and took a small step closer to Thomas. “But is it possible that I’m an exception?”

Thomas swallowed, his throat dry. He really hadn’t wanted to take this further than a conversation. If he was going to go  _any_  further with this man, then he would have to do more than just ask for a dance. “Possible?” he answered. “Yes.” A small glimmer of what looked like pride appeared in the stranger’s eyes until Thomas spoke again. “Likely? No.”

The man took a few seconds to form his response. “The alternative is I walk away from you... and then you’ll never learn who I am.”

Damn. Thomas was far too curious by then to consider letting the man leave. It had been a while since he’d last danced with someone, especially socially, but he  _couldn’t_  let him get away. Not tonight. He sighed. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“Does that mean I’ve won?”

The answer was ‘yes’, of course. But he really couldn’t let the stranger off so lightly. He had managed to impress Thomas with his conversation, but if he really wanted to dance then he’d have to be impressive on the dance floor, too. Thomas stood up and righted his posture, noting that he was slightly taller than his stranger. He quickly rebuttoned his suit jacket and donned a confident smile.

“Try to keep up,” he smiled, leading him out onto the dance floor and offering him a hand. He placed his other hand around on the stranger’s back, pulling them closer together. He noticed that the man was breathing quickly as he positioned one of his hands lightly on Thomas’ shoulder and took his offered hand with the other. He could just make out the movement of the man’s rapid pulse through his neck. So he was scared, then. Maybe he wasn’t up to Thomas’ standard, after all. “Nervous?” he asked, still smiling.

“Huh?” the stranger replied, obviously flustered.

Thomas directed his gaze right into the man’s eyes. “If you’re nervous, this dance will be over before it even begins.”

The man swallowed. “I’m  _not_  nervous.”

“Prove it.”

“Fine…” he almost growled, pulling his hand out of Thomas’ and placing it on his other shoulder. He ran his hands over Thomas’ shoulders and down his back, pulling him even closer. His hands continued lower, finally running over his ass and grabbing firmly.

“Oh!” Thomas gasped in surprise, an involuntary shudder coursing through his whole body at the touch. All hints of nervousness had vanished from the man’s face and posture and he smirked at Thomas.

“Hope you don’t mind…”

His first thought was that, no, he definitely  _didn’t_  mind. The stranger had demonstrated his confidence, even if it was ultimately just for show. But his second thought was that there  _were_  other people around and it wasn’t very professional.

“Please remove your hands,” he said sternly, and watched the man’s face fall.

“Oh, sorry…” he muttered, relaxing his grip.

Thomas sighed. He hadn’t meant to upset the man - only to preserve both their dignity. He lowered his voice, moving his face ever so slightly closer to the man’s. “Although your bravado is impressive, we  _are_  in public at the moment.”

The stranger’s smile returned as he deciphered Thomas’ words. “Duly noted,” he murmured back. His hands slid back up to Thomas’ back and he moved his own hands to the man’s waist. He led the man through the dance, surprised at how easily he kept up. He rarely danced with a partner whose moves were as smooth and fluid as his. This man was just one surprise after another.

“Hmmm… you’re not completely horrible at this,” he remarked. He took a quick glance around the room where several other couples had stopped dancing to watch them. He was sure that they must be quite the sight. They probably looked like they were experienced and far more intimate with each other than such a short acquaintance would suggest. “In fact,” he continued, “it seems that your talents have attracted the attention of the entire ballroom.”

It was the stranger’s turn to look around the room, and he looked both surprised and pleased at the response. “It’s all in the leading,” he purred, and Thomas tightened his grip on his waist, silent for a few seconds while he appreciated the man’s voice. He seemed to have mastered switching between casual and seductive, and the uncertainty about which tone he would use next was starting to make Thomas’ suit feel the tiniest bit too warm.

“Normally I’d agree,” he said before he had a chance to really consider his words, “but in this case… you’re the mesmerising one.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” the stranger replied quickly, his voice full of astonishment.

It took Thomas a few seconds to realise what he’d said. “What?”

“Er…” The small amount of the man’s cheeks that he could see reddened slightly. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said  _tonight!_ ”

Thomas gave a small shrug. The man was just caught up in the moment. Just like him. The music began to intensify and Thomas decided to provide a further challenge for his stranger.

“Keep my tempo, or you’ll fall behind,” he muttered, as he increased the speed of his movements. The man continued to match his pace as more people stopped to watch them. Without warning, Thomas spun him out and they lost all contact for a few seconds. He reached out and, impressively, the man managed to gracefully grab his hand and twirl back into his arms. “Not bad,” he remarked as their small audience clapped. He leant in closer so that their cheeks were  _almost_  touching and his lips were just centimetres from the man’s ear. “You learn quickly,” he whispered. “I wish you were one of my students.”

“So… you’re a teacher?” the stranger whispered back, and Thomas groaned internally. He hadn’t meant to give away any personal details other than his name.

“I-- I suppose I can’t back out of that one,” he sighed. “Yes, I teach at a local university.” He heard the music change again to a slower song, and he moved his hands to hold the man’s back, pulling him even closer. He could feel the warmth of the stranger’s body against his as they kept dancing.

“Any interesting students?” the man asked, and Thomas almost kicked himself when the first thought to surface was of Danny.

He gave a small shrug. “Most of my students are mediocre at best, but there’s one… Danny…” He trailed off, then decided he may as well vent his frustration. “From day one, Danny was the most insubordinate, disrespectful, infuriating--”

The stranger cut him off harshly. “Wait, wait wait. This Danny must have some redeeming qualities, right?” Thomas blinked at him, noticing a hint of fire in his eyes. “It seems to me like there’s more to this student than what you’re saying. Doesn’t Danny have passion?”

Thomas considered the question. Of course there was more to Danny than the qualities he had listed. Danny was talented and popular and goddamn  _gorgeous_ , but passion… “I suppose Danny is passionate…” he replied, thinking of all the extra hours the director always put in. Of how determined he always was to succeed. Of how he never stopped until he was satisfied with the outcome. “I’ve never seen anyone care so much about school projects since, well, me.” It was a thought he’d never really considered before. Danny did remind him far too much of himself at that age. “And I admit, passion is important in this town. Without it, you can burn out like  _that_.” He gave a small shake of his head. “But I digress. Danny is just a student, and I’d much rather focus on  _you_  at the moment.” That was the truth. Kind of. Of course he was only focussing on his masked stranger… but he still hadn’t completely stopped thinking of how like Danny he was.

“No arguments there!” the man laughed.

The music changed again, to a more upbeat song. “It looks like we’re doing a group dance,” he remarked. “Follow my lead.”

He put his attention into the dance as he guided the man through the steps. They lined up with the other couples. He couldn’t spot any other same-sex partners, but the stranger didn’t seem to mind dancing in the same line as the women, while Thomas lined up with the men.

“One, two, three… one, two, three…” he repeated in time with the steps to instruct his partner, “now switch!”

“Oh!” the man gasped in surprise as Thomas have him a small push to switch to the next man along. It was a few seconds before Thomas was able to draw his gaze away from his stranger, but he eventually focussed on his new partner. She wasn’t as good a dancer as the man, that was for sure, and neither were any of his partners as the dance continued and eventually ended. As the music faded out, he gave a curt nod goodbye to his final partner, and looked around the room for the man.

A few minutes went by as he pushed through the dancers, trying to spot the black and gold mask of his stranger. He eventually sighed in defeat. Maybe that was it, then. He shouldn’t be too disappointed - it was the first time he’d enjoyed a ball in a very long time. But it seemed that it was only in losing the man that he realised just how attached he’d grown over such a short time. The whole situation just confused him. If the stranger reminded him so much of Danny, then why was he so desperate to further whatever it was they’d had? Sure, Danny was attractive. He was perfectly at liberty to acknowledge that. But Danny was all he could think about around the man, so why did he want to find him again? Why did he want to hold him for another dance? Why did he want to kiss him…? He stopped himself at that thought. It had come completely out of nowhere and Thomas panicked slightly. The whole idea of romance usually completely repulsed him and he rarely felt so attracted to someone, especially after knowing them for such a short amount of time. But his conversation and his manner had been so  _perfect_. His voice had been ridiculously alluring. And his lips… Well, they had been far too inviting.


	3. The Balcony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter concludes the first date; On the Hunt

Thomas swore under his breath, then almost jumped as he felt someone tap his on the shoulder. He spun around to find himself face to face with a black and gold mask, and swallowed down his anxiety.

“What? Oh, there you are,” he said as nonchalantly as he could. “I was looking for you after the dance.”

“But I found you first,” the man said proudly. “It was easy enough to… what did you say earlier? ‘ _Analyse the nuances of your physicality and behaviour._ ’ I simply trusted my instincts.”

“Very impressive,” Thomas nodded. He took a deep breath, deciding that if anything was going to happen, it should happen sooner rather than later. Before they lost each other again. He gently took one of the man’s hands in his and looked softly at him. “Come with me.” He tried to sound calm, but his words came out in a mumble. He walked through the ballroom, lightly pushing through the crowd as he pulled the man along behind him. He found a small, deserted balcony at the side of the room and lead the man out onto it. He looked out at the view of the setting sun and the rolling waves of the ocean below and decided that he’d never found nature so beautiful before. As he turned to the stranger, he deftly untied his mask and let it fall into his hands. He placed it on a small table at the side of the balcony and paused for a few seconds, letting the man look at his face. “Disappointed?” he asked eventually.

“Not at all.” If he wasn’t mistaken, Thomas could see a hint of awe in the stranger’s eyes. Surely he was mistaken. But, then again, the reaction hadn’t been negative.

They walked over to the edge of the balcony and the man leant against the railing, staring out at the landscape. “So tell me, Thomas… is this masquerade living up to your expectations?” he asked quietly, turning back to face him.

“It has exceeded them many times over,” he answered, holding the stranger’s gaze.

“That must be a first.”

He gave a single slow nod. “Indeed it is…” Thomas reached forward to take both of the man’s hands in his, steadying himself with a few slow breaths. “You are definitely the best part of the night. I wasn’t expecting to meet someone like you.” He had never been the best at verbalising his feelings, but the words were flowing as easily as the dances had. “I can sense something about you, a  _connection_ … I never thought I’d feel this strongly about someone I just met, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”

He let go of the man’s hands and wrapped his arms around his waist, removing all space between them. He brought one hand back up to lightly hold the man’s face, tilting it up while he let his eyes close. He leant down and finally pressed his lips against the man’s, letting his hand run down the side of his neck and his back. He somehow managed to pull the man even closer against him as their mouths moved against each other and he heard the first fireworks of the evening begin to explode overhead. The man’s lips felt impossibly soft, yet pressed against his with a firmness that made his heart race and his head spin. He felt one of the man's hands slide around the back of his neck and the other press against his chest as the kiss deepened, bordering on passionate, yet still maintaining its sweetness. They lingered for another few seconds before Thomas gently pulled back.

“Please…” he whispered, their faces only centimetres apart. “I have to know who you are…”

Maybe putting a face to the stranger would finally erase Danny from his mind. Some small part of him was concerned that he was still so fixated on Danny after kissing the man, but he was mostly focussed on how  _good_  he felt. His head still felt light and his cheeks were warm and he was surprised at how calmly euphoric a simple kiss had made him feel.

“There’s only one way to find out,” the man whispered back.

Suddenly incredibly nervous, Thomas reached back up to undo the strings of the man’s mask. Whoever he was, Thomas had decided, he was the perfect match for him. They had been so compatible all evening and there was nothing to suggest that the stranger wasn’t as infatuated as he was. After all, he’d gone to all that trouble to reunite them after the group dance. The man’s hair was soft on his fingers as he untied the mask, and he couldn’t wait for a chance to properly run his hands through it. He drew the mask away from the man’s face and dropped it on the same table as his, as the man looked up at him.

It took Thomas a moment to process the sight he was met with. The soft brown hair, the deep brown eyes, the charming smile… He felt his heart begin to pound somewhere near his throat as his mind flashed through the events of the evening; the man’s confidence, some of the things he’d said, his familiarity, his laugh… He finally put all the details together to form the identity of the man he’d talked to and danced with and completely fallen for.

“Danny!” he gasped. This time, the man standing in front of him was no illusion. It really was  _Danny_. The man he’d spent the night growing more and more attached to was none other than his own student. The universe really had a sick sense of humour, he found himself thinking as his anger rose. From the second Danny had stepped into his class on his first day, Thomas had made it very clear to himself that he was completely off limits. There was no way he would  _ever_  consider a relationship with a student. Ever. And, oh god, they’d even  _kissed_. Suddenly furious with the director for manipulating him and with himself for his stupidity at not realising sooner, he clenched his fists. “How  _dare_  you?!” he spat.

Until then, Danny’s expression had been hopeful. That hope disappeared in an instant at Thomas’ words and was replaced with an amalgamation of confusion, distress, and a hint of fear. “ _What?_ ”

Thomas seethed, his breaths coming out in deep pants. “You lied to me! You deceived me! You…” he struggled for a word that would do the situation justice, “ _seduced_  me!”

“Oh  _please!_ ” Danny snapped, his own anger surfacing. “Some part of you knew it was me! Even if you didn’t consciously know it, deep down you hoped it was me! You  _wanted_  it to be me!”

Thomas’ fury was only fueled by his words. Mostly because, deep down, he knew that Danny was right. He’d been kidding himself all evening, hoping that he’d found some incredible stranger to solve all his problems. He’d  _known_  it was Danny. And he’d kissed him. He’d completely lost himself in the fantasy and he had  _wanted_  Danny. But reality was a cold, hard slap in the face, because this  _couldn’t_  happen. “Ha!” He barely missed a beat. “Why would I want you to be someone I despise? Someone I don’t respect? You’re the  _last_  person I’d want to see behind that mask.” Because directing his anger and frustration at Danny had always worked. It had always dampened his feelings. Besides, he had to let it out somehow and there was nothing else he could do.

Danny was shaking with rage as he shouted his retort. “And what about the fact that up until two seconds ago, you were completely into me. You fell for me! There was nothing clouding your judgement then, just your raw feelings. Admit it!”

The blatant truth of Danny’s words was nearly unbearable to listen to. “There’s nothing to admit,” he said, just as much for his own benefit as Danny’s. Again, denial had always worked. It was his safety net. And he wasn’t going to let it fail him now. “This argument is pointless. I can’t be involved with a student.”

“Can’t?” Danny growled. “Or won’t?”

“I meant what I said,” Thomas shot back, unable to construct anymore lies. It was exhausting.

Danny panted for a few moments, before turning towards the door leading back into the ballroom. “Then I guess this is goodbye.”

He had barely taken a few steps, before Thomas found himself reaching out to grab his arm, dragging him back.

“Wait!” he cried desperately.

Danny turned back to face him, the obvious hurt in his eyes softening Thomas’ expression.

“Just… just wait, Danny,” he repeated quietly.

He couldn’t just throw the evening away. It was obvious that they had clicked. Of course Danny had betrayed his trust, but it wasn’t as if he’d never had feelings for the director before the ball. The urge to lean down for another kiss was almost overwhelming, and he halved the distance between their faces. They were both still for a while, before Thomas quickly let go of Danny and took a step back. He righted his posture and straightened his suit jacket, trying to compose his expression.

Danny’s anger seemed to have dissipated, and now he just looked sad. “Professor?” he asked, confused at Thomas’ retraction.

Thomas gave the smallest shake of his head. “We can’t cross this line,” he said simply. “Forget this happened.  _Nothing_  changes.”

“What are you saying?!” Danny replied, his tone bordering on desperate. “That this whole night was a mistake?”

“You’re still my student. I’m still your professor.”

Danny huffed. “I know that! But was it a mistake?”

There was no way he could answer with a lie. No way. But he couldn’t possibly tell the truth. Because, as far as he was concerned, it  _hadn’t_  been a mistake. It had been the most he’d enjoyed himself in years. It was obvious that Danny’s feelings were genuine, so they  _were_  perfect for each other. But he couldn’t tell Danny that. If he did, then he couldn’t refuse him. But he had to. He turned away from Danny, taking a few steps towards the door.

“Answer me!” Danny exclaimed. Thomas winced at the hurt in his voice. “Do you think it was a mistake?” the director repeated.

Thomas closed his eyes, making sure his voice would come out calmly.

“I didn’t say that…”

He strode back into the ballroom, unable to look back at Danny. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to look at Danny again.


	4. The Aftermath

Somehow Thomas managed to hold himself together for the drive home. His hands shook as he unlocked his front door and stumbled through it. As he leant back against it, he felt his eyes fill with tears and didn’t stop them. It was only now that he had let himself feel so strongly for Danny - even without knowing that it was him - that he realised that the only thing holding him back before had been denial. He had been so convincing in telling himself that nothing could ever happen that he had just assumed that he didn’t  _want_  anything to happen. But Danny had been right; deep down, he had known that the stranger was him. And  _that’s_  why he’d fallen for him. Because he already had. He couldn’t deny it anymore, but there was nothing he could do. The only way to escape his feelings would be to stop thinking, but there was no way he would be able to sleep.

Pushing off the wall, he staggered into the kitchen and dug around in the cupboard until he found a half bottle of scotch. He grabbed a small glass and made his way into the living room, where he collapsed into an armchair. He unscrewed the top of the bottle and dropped the lid on his side table, pouring a decent amount of the whiskey into his glass. He downed it in one go and immediately refilled the glass.

The worst part of the whole situation was that Danny obviously returned his feelings. He had noticed the director flirting with him before, but he’d had that from far too many students in his teaching career. This was the first time one of them had worked out a time when he would be at a social event without company and gone out of their way to also be there and to find him. Most of his students in that situation would have tormented him, hiding behind their anonymity, but everything that Danny had done had been so genuine. Danny had given him the most enjoyable and the most romantic evening he’d had in years.

Thomas quickly drank the second glass of scotch and had soon poured and drunk a third. He placed the glass down on the table, still holding the bottle. He couldn’t even work out what it was about Danny that was apparently so great. He knew that plenty of people would argue his looks, but looks rarely affected Thomas. There were plenty of good looking people in Hollywood. In terms of his personality, there was a lot about Danny that he simply hated. He was overconfident and demanding and impulsive and broke all the rules. He was exactly the kind of person whose career would boom and flourish for a few years before he finally pushed the boundaries that little bit too far and everything would crumble around him. Just like it had for Thomas. Thomas groaned, suddenly realising his problem with Danny. It wasn’t  _Danny_  that he really had a problem with. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that every part of Danny that he found himself listing as things he hated were actually parts of himself. Or rather, they had been parts of himself when  _he_  had started his own career. He had been exactly the same as Danny was now. And he had failed. He didn’t hate Danny. He hated that Danny would probably end up like him.

Not bothering with his glass anymore, he lifted the bottle of scotch to his lips and took a long sip. So he didn’t hate Danny. And he could no longer deny his attraction. All his feelings about the director that he had found comfort in were gone and he was left with just… What even was it? He had always assumed that his feelings were just the residual lust from the first time they had met, but it was so much more than that. He swallowed a few more mouthfuls of whiskey. A tiny thought had been playing at the edge of his consciousness for a while, now, and he tried his hardest to dismiss it. Instead, he tried to focus on the dizziness that was also fighting to take over his head. He gulped down almost the rest of the bottle and stared at the few remaining sips left at the bottom. He was going to have one of the worst hangovers of his life when he next woke up, that was for sure, but he didn’t care. Not when he was still thinking about Danny. Because if he thought for any longer, he would start considering the validity of his thought. And no.  _No_. There was absolutely  _no way_  in hell. He couldn’t let himself be right. Thomas Hunt was  _not_  in love with Daniel Nelsen.

* * *

“Thomas?  _Thomas?!_  What have you  _done?_ ”

His first thought was that someone had broken into his house and hit him over the head. It didn’t take him very long to realise how ridiculous that was, but that realisation didn’t make his head hurt any less.

“ _Thomas!_ ” A hand grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged at it. “You  _idiot!_ ”

“Shut up,” he managed to mumble, every sound feeling like its own blow to his head.

The hand released his shirt and he was pulled into an awkward hug. “Oh, thank god!”

Thomas finally recognised the voice and opened his eyes a few millimetres, trying to let as little light in as possible. “Priya,” he groaned. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s nearly midday and you weren’t answering your phone,” she explained. “And you didn’t answer your door, either. It was unlocked so I let myself in, and I’m glad I did! What have you done?”

“Please don’t touch me,” Thomas muttered, scrunching his eyes closed again. She slowly withdrew from the hug and he heard her sigh.

“Thomas?” Her voice was quiet and she sounded concerned. He had no idea what kind of state he must be in. He probably looked far worse than he felt. He quickly reconsidered. No, he definitely felt extremely crap. Physically, it felt as though someone had put his head in a vice with the express purpose of slowly crushing it, and his nausea only increased as he felt more awake. Emotionally… he wasn’t ready to think about his emotions yet. “Please tell me this bottle wasn’t full when you started.”

He gave a grunt, accompanied by the most gentle shake of his head he could manage.

“Still…” she trailed off, and he knew she’d be fighting the impulse to touch his shoulder in a further attempt at comfort. “Did something happen?”

He grimaced, the events of the previous evening flashing through his mind. “ _Danny_ …” he groaned under his breath without even thinking.

“What? What did you say?” Priya asked. “Danny? Who are you talking about? You mean Daniel Nelsen, the student you vouched for at his hearing?” She took Thomas’ silence as an affirmation. “What’s he got to do with anything? I thought you were going to that masquerade ball last night…”

He turned his head away from her so that she didn’t see the water forming around the corners of his eyes. He gave a small hiccup and a few seconds later, he felt Priya press something large and plastic against his chest. When he opened his eyes, a single large tear managed to escape and rolled down his cheek. Priya had handed him a bucket and it was only a moment later, when his nausea peaked, that he figured out why. She rubbed his back as he threw up, and he really couldn’t be bothered telling her not to. She pushed a large glass of water into one of his hands, but he shook too much to hold it. She helped him guide it to his mouth and he gulped down the whole glass in just seconds.

“I take it today’s off then,” she said eventually, her hand still lingering on his back. “You’re not up to going out anywhere. You should probably just go sleep this off.” He didn’t reply and she sat down on the armrest of the chair, taking the bucket and putting it down on the floor. “Do you want me to stay?”

Thomas shrugged. He wanted more than anything to be alone, but he knew that he would just end up wallowing in misery for the rest of the weekend. He had far more important things to do and he needed someone like Priya to kick him back into gear. He gave a small sigh. “Okay.”

She nodded, somewhat surprised, and stood up, carrying the bucket away as she walked out of the room. She returned a few minutes later with a mug of coffee and two aspirin. Thomas’ hands had steadied enough to hold the mug and he quickly swallowed the pills. Priya sat down in the armchair opposite his and watched him sip the coffee.

“Look, I have no idea what’s going on, but you have  _got to_  find a better way of dealing with your problems, Thomas.” He looked down, avoiding her eyes, and she sighed. “You used to talk to me,” she eventually said quietly.

“This doesn’t concern you,” he replied, not looking up. The last thing he needed was for another set of emotional relationship issues to be brought up, although it  _did_  distract from Danny. She was right, though. They used to talk about anything and everything. They asked each other for advice and helped each other through their problems. He knew he’d started blocking her out, but even so… He couldn’t tell her about Danny. He couldn’t tell anyone.

“Of course it concerns me.” He finally looked back up at her. “Thomas, no matter what you may tell yourself, I  _do_  still care about you. Not in the same way I did, but… You’ve always been a good friend. If you have a problem then I want to help you fix it.”

He shook his head. “There’s nothing you can do.”

“I could  _listen_ ,” she offered.

Thomas finished his coffee and placed the mug down on the side table. He looked down at his hands, then to the empty scotch bottle on the coffee table between them. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

There was a long silence, before Priya finally stood up and walked back over to him.

“Come on, you should get to bed.”

She helped him to his feet and supported him as they slowly walked through the house to his bedroom. He sat down on his bed and she undid his tie, taking both the tie and his suit jacket and hanging them over the back of a chair. His head heavy, he closed his eyes as she unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders. She leant down to untie his shoes and he toed them off. She gave him a light kiss on the cheek as he lay down, and she switched the light off.

“I’ll come back to check on you in a few hours,” she said.

Thomas heard his bedroom door close and her footsteps retreat down the hall. “Thank you, Priya,” he muttered, trying his hardest to keep Danny from his mind as, despite the coffee, he slipped into a deep sleep.


	5. The Class

Thomas felt considerably better when he woke up. His headache had faded to a slight pulse in the front of his head and his nausea had completely subsided. He felt exhausted, despite having been asleep for most of the past fifteen hours, but that wasn’t too unpleasant. He dragged himself out of bed and walked back out into the living room, where Priya was curled up in an armchair, engrossed in a book. She looked up after a minute or so and smiled.

“You look awful,” she remarked.

He sat down opposite her, running a hand through his already messy hair. “Thank you.”

She chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

He shook his head. “No, I mean it. Thank you. For earlier.”

She looked a little taken aback. “I meant what I said, Thomas. We’re friends. I care about you.” She closed her book and placed it on the coffee table. “I want you to be happy and that means being here for you when you need me. We’ve had our own issues, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to desert you when you obviously need help. Oh, don’t give me that look - you’re allowed to need help.”

Thomas sighed deeply. “I’m still not talking about it.”

Priya nodded. “That’s okay. I just don’t want you to push me away.”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled quietly, and she looked surprised.

“Did Thomas Hunt just give me a ‘thank you’ and a ‘sorry’ in the same conversation?” she gasped, earning a small smile from Thomas.

“I’m not that bad, am I?”

She laughed. “Yes and no. You  _are_  that bad, but I wouldn’t call it  _bad_. You’re honest and you’re tough. You don’t let people get to you. So why now?”

He could tell she wasn’t going to drop it, but there was still no way he could tell her. She  _did_  understand him more than most people, but even she would think he was crazy. She was too much like him to do anything other than condemn his feelings. Besides, she disapproved of Danny just as much as he had initially. “Apologies for missing the movie today,” he said, pointedly changing the subject. She gave a single nod, indicating that she would drop the subject. He knew she’d try again later. She was as stubborn as he was. “Would you like to reschedule for tomorrow?”

“Of course, if you’re up to it.” She paused, but looked like she wanted to say more. Thomas stayed quiet. “Um…” she finally said.

“Um?” he asked, when she hesitated.

“Do you want me to stay?” He gave her a confused look. “I mean tonight. Do you want me to stay?”

The question threw him off. “Y-you mean…?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, of course not. Not… Not if you don’t want to… No.”

Thomas sometimes wondered how different their lives would have been if they had never broken up. They had both agreed it was for the best - and it  _was_  - but he knew that it had complicated their friendship. There was a lot of pressure on both of them, from their families and their married friends and the media, to settle down and he sometimes considered that it would have been easier for them to just maintain the illusion of a relationship. They  _seemed_  so perfect for each other, so people had just assumed that they had broken up because one or both of them had someone else. Truthfully, they just hadn’t clicked as anything other than friends. Although Priya seemed to need someone at her level of critical severity, which he didn’t quite live up to anyway, he needed someone to balance out his personality. Someone who would let him enjoy himself.  _Someone like Danny_ , of course. Nevertheless, it had been difficult to adjust to  _not_  being together. But whatever they’d had, they  _were_  over.

“You know I keep the spare room set up. You’re welcome to stay.”

She nodded. “And if you need to talk at any time—”

“I won’t,” he said quickly. “Now, surely you have something else that we can talk about. Did anything interesting happen in the news while I was asleep?”

It wasn’t long before Priya had launched into a recount of the last day in Hollywood and Thomas was  _almost_  able to concentrate on her words. Every now and then, his mind would drift back to Danny, but he was mostly able to nod along with her and add in the occasional snide remark or criticism. As he’d hoped, she kept him distracted and sober for the rest of the day and he even enjoyed seeing a movie with her the following day. Well, he enjoyed talking with her about how much he _hadn’t_  enjoyed the movie. For the most part, he was feeling normal again by the time he went to bed on Sunday night, until it finally occurred to him that he would be teaching again on Monday. That meant seeing Danny for the first time since he’d walked away from him at the ball. He lay awake until the early hours of the morning, dreading the reunion more and more. On the other hand, however, he also found himself wanting to see Danny again. He wondered how the director would be feeling - had he moved on already, or was he as affected by Thomas’ rejection as Thomas had been? He doubted the latter, but even if Danny  _was_  feeling depressed about the situation, would he even show it? He probably thought that Thomas didn’t care about him after he’d walked away, so he probably would have given up. It was more likely that the only reason he’d even gone to the ball was for some fun and he didn’t care about Thomas anywhere near how much Thomas cared about him. Mostly he just wanted everything to go back to how it had been before the ball. Back when he, at least, had been unaware of any feelings in either direction.

It wasn’t going to be a good day, that was for sure. And it was going to be made even worse by the fact that he would be exhausted after such a bad night’s sleep, or lack thereof. Priya had told him to call her if he needed to talk, but she would surely be asleep already and he didn’t want to disturb her. What would he even say? No, he couldn’t talk to her. What would happen would happen and he may as well just face it. On that decisive thought, he was finally able to sleep.

* * *

Thomas sat at his desk at the front of the lecture theatre, watching his students file in, laughing cheerfully and chatting about their weekends. He glanced back and forth between the door and his watch as the beginning of the lesson drew ever closer and Danny still hadn’t arrived. As the second hand ticked down the final moments before he was due to begin his lecture, the young director finally slipped through the door, his head down and arms full of books, and moved to a seat near the back of the theatre. Addison, who had taken a seat closer to the middle, frowned and got up to move next to him. He didn’t reply when she greeted him, and he took out some paper and a pen, each of his movements firm and necessary. Thomas kept his eyes on Danny for the next few seconds, waiting for him to finally look up, but he didn’t.

His attention was finally dragged elsewhere when there was a soft outbreak of murmuring amongst the students. He eyes flickered back to his watch and he realised that it had already been a minute since he was supposed to start talking. For the first time in his teaching career, he was running late.

All eyes except Danny’s on him, he slowly got to his feet and walked around to the front of his desk. The class immediately silenced, but he saw a few of the students exchanged confused looks. He looked out at them for a few moments, trying not to let his eyes drift back to Danny, and tried to remember what on earth he was supposed to be talking about.

“Um…” he began, everything going out of his mind. He cleared his throat and looked back down at his desk, his eyes searching out his notes. He quickly scanned the first few lines and turned back to the class, who were all staring at him in disbelief. He noticed some of them whisper to each other, a few of their expressions concerned. Danny still wasn’t looking at him and Addison looked far more concerned about him than about Thomas. He cleared his throat again and unconsciously straightened his jacket.

“This week, those of you with enough sense to actually pay attention will be learning about tragedy.” He paused and finally noticed Danny look up slightly. He could see that there was irony in the weeks’ topics - first the focus on romance and then, after what he hated to think of as his own romantic tragedy, the focus on tragedy. His eyes met Danny’s and he almost gasped. The light that was usually bright and obvious in his eyes was gone and he looked almost more exhausted than Thomas felt. He had done nothing to cover the shadows beneath his eyes, nor had he seemed to shave over the weekend. So he  _had_  been affected. Thomas quickly looked away and swallowed, continuing his lecture.

“Tragedy, in film, is not as overdone as romance, but is often accompanied by it. It is almost always badly done and you should not attempt it if you don’t intend to do it correctly. That said, most of you shouldn’t attempt it, regardless of your intentions.” He didn’t expect anyone to take notes during his introductions and most of the students were simply rolling their eyes at his criticism, but he noticed Danny already beginning to write slowly.

As his lecture continued, Thomas became increasingly pleased that Danny continued to write without looking up or talking to anyone, because it made him easier to ignore. He had already distracted Thomas enough for the class to notice a change in his behaviour, so he was desperate for the rest to go as smoothly as possible. A brief glance at his watch showed that he only had twenty minutes left to talk and he almost sighed with relief. He had made it through more than half the lecture and it seemed to be getting easier.  As he began talking about translating tragedy in literacy to film, the door to the theatre opened and he paused, hesitating as Priya walked into the room. The whole class stared at her as she made her way to the front of the room and sat down at a seat near the front of the theatre, facing the students. She gave Thomas a look that he read as, ‘I’m staying. Get on with it,’ and he frowned, gradually continuing his lecture while wondering what she was doing there.

The next twenty minutes were almost a blur and, before he knew it, he was dismissing the class. He watched Danny pack up his things slowly, Addison waiting almost impatiently and still looking concerned. As Thomas walked back to his desk and sat down behind it, Priya stood up and walked over to him. The four of them were the last people left in the silence of the room, and Danny eventually trudged over to the door. Addison held it open for him and slipped out after him, leaving the two professors.

Thomas looked down at his desk, trying to find something to occupy himself with other than thoughts of Danny. Now that he knew that Danny had been as badly affected by the ball as he had, he was going to have a harder time convincing himself that his actions had been for the best. Unless, of course, something else had happened to Danny over the weekend. Maybe it was selfish to assume that Danny’s mood was because of him.

“Alright, Thomas,  _what_  is going on?” Priya finally said, walking around to the front of the desk so that she could look at him directly. “Obviously _something_  is going on with you and Nelsen. Both of you spent the last quarter of an hour torn between glaring at each other and avoiding looking at one another, and generally looking ridiculously depressed, so _do not_  tell me it’s nothing.”

Thomas looked up at her for a minute or so, before sighing resignedly. “I know you want to help, and I really do appreciate that, Priya, but… This is something that I have to work out on my own.”

She narrowed her eyes and he sunk slightly further into his chair. “Well, you’d better work it out quickly. Your behaviour was obviously affecting the class. Don’t let your personal problems get in the way of your job.”

And that was their biggest difference, he thought. His job was incredibly important to him. He was passionate about teaching, as he had been passionate about directing. But for her, her career was beyond her passion. It was her life. And that was fine with him, but there were times when he felt his personal life was more important than his job. He wasn’t sure if this was one of those times, but he was starting to feel like he didn’t care if it was affecting his teaching. At his lack of response, Priya shook her head in disdain and turned to leave.

“Thomas, you have a habit of letting your problems completely consume you. Whatever’s going on, don’t let it take over your life.” She walked away without looking back at him, and he leant forward to let his head fall heavily on the desk, desperately wishing that he was able to follow her advice. But he knew that it was far too late to try to stop thinking about Danny.


	6. The Warehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the start of the second date; The Reluctant Professor

Thomas had another morning lecture with Danny’s class on Tuesday. Danny looked a little brighter, but someone - probably Ethan - had probably just forced him to get some sleep. And to shave. He had a few short conversations with Addison throughout the lesson and, for once, Thomas didn’t call him out for it. Both of them still avoided eye contact, and the rest of the class seemed shocked when he had to choose some students to do a demonstration and he didn’t pick on Danny.

At the end of the lesson, Thomas stopped the class from leaving. “I have organised a class field trip for this Friday,” he announced. “We will be going to the set of a new romantic drama called _Love is Everywhere_. It ties in well with last week’s study into romance in film. I have emailed you all the details. If you intend to behave in any way that will reflect badly upon the university or, even worse, _me_ , don’t bother showing up. Class dismissed.”

Again, Danny took a while to pack up, but this time he told Addison not to wait for him. Thomas felt his heart began to pound as the class slowly emptied until Danny was the only student left. He swallowed nervously as he tried to focus on the papers on his desk in front of him, but he found himself staring at Danny anyway. Danny walked slowly down towards the front of the room, until he reached the door. He paused for a few seconds and looked up at Thomas, their eyes meeting. Thomas couldn’t read Danny’s expression, but he looked as though he wanted to say something.

After a long moment, Danny gave a small shake of his head and walked out the door. Thomas let out a breath that he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and looked back down at his papers. The thought of talking to Danny was beginning to terrify him because he had no idea what he would say. If Danny forced him to talk, he probably wouldn’t be able to hold back his feelings and that would ruin everything. He was sure Danny didn’t realise how disastrous it would be. But, then again, Danny probably thought he hated him. For the first time, he was relieved at that. It meant that hopefully they wouldn’t have to talk. Nothing would happen and nothing would change. That was for the best.

* * *

Things seemed to improve over the next two days. Danny seemed to be going back to his usual self in class, to the point where Thomas even called him out for talking to Addison a few times. Nonetheless, he still spent the days avoiding Priya and the nights fixated on the director. The thought hit him while he was trying to sleep on Thursday night that he was going to have to pay more attention to Danny on a field trip than he did on class. Sure, he’d have to pay more attention to _all_ of his students, but who was he kidding if he tried to say that he would be watching all of them as closely as he would be watching Danny? The minutes and hours ticked by as he lay awake, knowing that the longer he put off sleep, the longer it would be before he had to face Danny again, whether on the field trip or in his dreams.

Barely realising that he had slept, he found himself waking up in the early hours of Friday morning, and before long, his class was assembled in front of him on the set of _Love is Everywhere_.

“Listen up, everyone,” he began, recalling his usual pre-field trip monologue. “We’re fortunate the producer is giving us this opportunity. That means you will behave in a way that reflects well on the university, _no exception_.” His eyes sought out Danny, who was standing with Addison. His t-shirt and jeans were casual yet smart, and Thomas glowered, knowing it would be hard to keep his eyes off him.

Their eyes met and Danny rolled his. “Yeah, yeah, I’m a troublemaker.”

Thomas gave a small shake of his head and turned back to the class. “No phones allowed on set!” he continued. “Put them in the bin by the doors as you enter!”

A few people groaned, but everyone took out their phones, most of the students switching them off. As Thomas walked the class into the studio warehouse, they all parted with their phones and he shook hands with the tour guide.

Having a guide proved a challenge because it meant that Thomas was free to let his attention wander and, of course, it wandered to Danny almost immediately. He followed behind the class, making sure everyone kept up, and watched the director talking and laughing with a small group of his classmates. Thomas found himself glad that Danny seemed a lot happier than he had on Monday, but couldn’t help feeling dismayed that that meant he’d probably moved on. But it was for the best, he reminded himself. He didn’t want Danny to be unhappy. That would have made things harder for both of them.

But it didn’t help that all the tour guide seemed to be talking about was romance and the chemistry between the two leads of the movie. The sets were all cheesy, but the romantic atmosphere was making it even harder to concentrate on _anything_ other than Danny. Catching snippets of Danny’s conversations wasn’t helping either.

“Hanging around romantic sets like these every day, it would be hard _not_ to fall in love!” he said and Addison giggled. Thomas shook his head and looked pointedly elsewhere.

He drifted further behind the tour group as the day dragged on, until the tour was finally coming to its end. While the class milled around near the entrance to the warehouse, he stood a little further in, trying to concentrate on the fact that he would soon be going home and that he had the whole weekend to focus on forgetting Danny. No, that would be pointless. He would have to keep Danny _completely_ out of his mind. He would also have to do his best to keep avoiding Priya. She meant well, of course, but she would just comment on his behaviour again and that would just bring everything back. He sighed. At least he could occupy himself with activities that didn’t involve being around Danny.

“Excuse me, Professor?”

He jumped slightly, turning to see Danny walking up to him. Glancing over at the rest of the class, he saw that they were starting to leave the warehouse. He glared at Danny for a second before replying. “What do you want, Danny?”

He took a deep breath. “We need to talk about what happened… at the masquerade.”

Thomas flinched, feeling his face warm. Danny looked so calm and expectant and so unaware that he had just ruined the small amount of progress that Thomas had made over the past few days. Suddenly overly aware of the students that still hadn’t left the warehouse, he grabbed Danny’s arm and pulled him further into the warehouse, out of view of the entrance. The darkness of the room made the situation feel far more intimate, and he forgot that it would have been normal to let go of Danny’s arm.

“Professor Hunt, I…” Danny began, trailing off as his voice softened. Thomas looked down into his eyes, suddenly caught up in their depth. He could see so much life and passion in them and he instantly reconsidered everything. Maybe it would be worth it to give something - _anything_ \- a go. Maybe…

“Danny…” he breathed, as the director leant closer to him, their lips just millimetres from touching. He thought back to his last kiss with Danny on the balcony at the masquerade ball and all of his emotions from that night instantly came flooding back. Returning to his senses, he quickly let go of Danny’s arm and pushed him away. “Are you crazy?!” he snapped. “I don’t know what you think is going to happen, but--”

“But what?” Danny cut in angrily.

“I’ve already said everything that needs to be said, Danny,” Thomas replied, trying to keep his voice down in case anyone else was still in the warehouse. “Our circumstances haven’t changed. Nothing’s changed.” He knew that they both knew that wasn’t true, but he was suddenly set on convincing Danny that he didn’t care.

“But--”

Danny was cut off by a loud crash that Thomas quickly identified as the warehouse door being shut. The two men exchanged a shocked glance, before running back towards the entrance.

“Hey! Wait! We’re in here!” Danny called.

As they reached the door, Danny grabbed the handle, but the doors wouldn’t open.

“You idiots!” Thomas shouted furiously. “Let us out!”

He breathed hard, the realisation that he was locked inside the warehouse with _Danny_ , of all people, beginning to play at the edges of his mind. He turned back to Danny, who was frowning at the doors, but didn’t look particularly distressed.

“Great,” Thomas muttered. “Now I’m stuck with you for who knows how long on the set of this idiotic romance film.”

He turned away from the doors and took a few steps into the warehouse as Danny replied.

“There are worse ways to spend a night.”

Thomas tensed, repeatedly reminding himself why he’d been avoiding being alone with Danny. It would be far too easy to just give in. “I assure you, there are not,” he grumbled. “And if you think this is a date, Danny, let me stop that misconception right now,” he added quickly. “This is _not_ a date.”

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds and Thomas mentally kicked himself. What a stupid thing to say. It wasn’t as if Danny had said anything about it being a date. He hadn’t even suggested at any point in the conversation that he was interested in Thomas. Sure, he had wanted to talk about the ball, but maybe he had been about to apologise. Or something. It was probably just best to change the subject.

“I can’t believe you got us locked in here,” he said.

“ _Me?_ ” He turned back to look at Danny, whose arms were folded over his chest. “How is this my fault?”

“ _You_ wanted to talk.” Thomas folded his own arms. “If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed as he grew angrier. “Hey! _You’re_ the one who dragged me all the way over here!” Thomas took a small step closer to Danny, the fire in his eyes mesmerising him. If anything, Danny’s anger made him more attractive and that only made Thomas more irritated.

“I was compensating for your lack of discretion.” It was the passion, that was it. Danny’s passion, even in the form of anger, was driving him insane.

“It doesn’t matter. Regardless, we’re stuck.”

Thomas sighed indignantly, turning away again. “Let’s just find a way out as quickly as possible. I don’t want to have to deal with you.”

“No offense taken, in case you were wondering,” Danny shot back as he walked away. “Assuming you actually have emotions in that robot heart of yours.”

Thomas stopped, Danny’s words hitting him hard. He had been called emotionless and robotic before, but never by anyone who really understood him. To be fair, that wasn’t very many people, but he had expected more from Danny. Did Danny really see him that way?

“There should be an emergency exit near the back,” he said, trying not to let his disappointment into his tone. He heard Danny follow him as he made his way deeper into the warehouse. They walked along the back wall of the building in an uncomfortable silence, but didn’t find any more doors. Thomas was trying to hold off the thought that he might have to spend more a lot more time with Danny than he had originally anticipated, and shook his head angrily. “Unbelievable. This is clearly a fire code violation.” He looked up and down the wall again. “I’ll be drafting a strongly-worded email as soon as we get out of here.”

He was almost surprised to hear Danny reply, after he had been silent for almost ten minutes. “Or, we could just make a night of it and enjoy ourselves until morning,” the director suggested. “ _Someone_ will come back eventually.”

Thomas shivered, the thought of spending the entire night alone with Danny finally breaking into his consciousness. Managing to keep his voice steady, he proceeded as if Danny’s words hadn’t set his mind spinning. “Are you going to help? Or just stand there making inane comments?”

“I’m just saying,” Danny continued, walking over to stand beside him, “this doesn’t have to be the end of the world.” He paused and Thomas looked down at him. “It could even be kinda romantic…”

“I told you,” Thomas retorted quickly. “This is not a date.”

Danny smiled. “Not with that attitude, it’s not.”

Thomas fumed, knowing that if the conversation went on for any longer, he would say something he would regret. Or worse, _do_ something. “Just look for a way out, Danny.”

Danny kept talking as he followed closely behind Thomas. “Maybe this isn’t a real date, but we can at least talk. Who could blame a professor and student for _talking_ when they’re accidentally locked on set together?”

Thomas groaned. “It’s not about blame. I don’t want to talk to you,” he replied honestly. “Not about this.”

“Why not?” Danny snapped. “I don’t understand… you said nothing would change, but I know both of us want it to. Why can’t we have this one night?” Thomas couldn’t work out if he sounded resentful or desperate, but he didn’t trust himself to reply. He sped up, refusing to look back at Danny. “Really? The silent treatment?” the director went on. “Real mature.”

He ignored Danny’s remarks and kept walking, heading further into the warehouse.


	7. The Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter continues the second date; The Reluctant Professor

Thomas looked over to some rooms to one side of the studio and noticed that one of them had a small window in the door. He stopped suddenly, able to see some desks and computers inside the room. He almost sighed in relief, already beginning to draft an email that he could send out for help in his head.

“It looks like there’s an office over there with several computers inside,” he informed Danny.

“Oh, you can talk now?” the director scoffed, and Thomas rolled his eyes, ignoring him.

“If we can get inside, we should be able to email someone and finally get out of here.”

He strode over to the door and tried the handle but, like the entrance doors, it was locked.

“Figures,” he muttered, looking around for another way into the office.

Danny put his hands on his hips. “So what’s your plan? Or are you still not talking to me?”

At least Danny’s immature attitude was making him easier to disregard, but Thomas was still purposely not looking at him just in case. He looked up and pointed to an air duct high up the wall.

“I can get through there,” he announced. “There’s a vent inside the office where that air duct must lead.” It wasn’t the most glamorous or ideal plan, but at least it meant a way out and getting away from Danny. He looked around again to find something that he could climb, and he settled on a trellis leaning against the wall nearby. He moved it so that it was propped under the air duct and prepared to climb it.

“A rose-covered trellis, huh?” Danny chuckled. “Some might call that _romantic_.”

Thomas gave a small shake of his head. Even though such gestures didn’t mean anything to him, every romantic suggestion Danny made just made it harder for him to concentrate. The sooner they were let out of the warehouse the better. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“Well, I’ve got nothing else to do,” Danny replied bitterly, walking over to steady the trellis as Thomas began to climb. Once he reached the top, there was still a reasonable distance between him and the vent. He knew he would just be able to reach it, but he almost lost his balance as he stretched out his arm. He knew he would need more support to be steady enough to get the vent open and to climb in, but he instantly dismissed the idea of letting Danny hold him. He would have to get Danny to climb up and then help him reach the vent.

He looked down at Danny sternly, hoping he could take the task seriously. “Well, get up here,” he commanded. “Obviously, I’ll have to hold you so _you_ can reach.”

“Right,” Danny said, his smooth facade cracking slightly. “ _Obviously_.” He swallowed noticeably and positioned his hands on the trellis. Thomas frowned. Danny had always been fine with heights, so why was he nervous now? With no one steadying it, the trellis shook slightly as Danny began to climb, and Thomas reached one arm down. Danny grabbed his hand and he helped Danny climb the rest of the way up. “Oh!” Danny gasped as the trellis began to lean to the left.

Trying to shift his weight to the right, Thomas quickly wrapped an arm around Danny’s waist to stop him falling, as the trellis began to right itself.

“Careful,” he admonished, keeping his arm in place as the trellis stopped moving. They breathed with relief for a few seconds, and Danny looked up at Thomas with a small smile.

“This is nice…” he said softly, and Thomas wished it would be safe for Danny if he removed his arm.

“Focus, Danny,” he instructed. “I need you to reach that vent and take the cover off.”

Danny climbed into the best position to reach the vent and Thomas was finally able to withdraw his arm. “Okay, you can help by holding my waist.”

Thomas grimaced, placing his arm back around Danny. He tightened his grip as Danny reached out towards the vent, his fingers just brushing it.

“Almost… there…” He strained, trying to stretch his arm out further, and Thomas felt the trellis rock slightly.

“Be careful,” he warned.

“Got it!” Danny suddenly proclaimed, pulling out of his grip and swinging over to the vent. Thomas held his breath as the trellis slowly steadied and Danny pulled himself up into the vent.

He climbed back down, his heart racing - because of the risk of the situation, he assured himself - and stood outside the office door, waiting. The second it opened, he pushed inside and walked over to the nearest computer. He waited a few seconds after trying the power button, before making a small noise of frustration.

“This one doesn’t work,” he announced, moving to the next computer. Danny watched as he tried computer after computer, growing more and more frustrated as none of them turned on.

“I think you missed one,” Danny teased, pointing to the other side of the room.

Thomas stormed over to the other computers, and groaned. “These are all just props!” He picked up the ‘computer’ in front of him. “This one is just a cardboard box painted to look like a computer.” Furious, he threw the cardboard box at the wall, and it crumpled, falling to the ground. “I can’t believe I’m actually stuck here with you,” he fumed. “This must be some kind of nightmare.”

Danny smiled cheekily. “Does that mean you dream about me?”

He scowled. “That’s not what I…” He shook his head. “You know what I meant!”

He pushed back past Danny, stepping back out into the warehouse, closely followed by him. Danny wrapped his arms around himself, shaking slightly.

“No jacket?” he noted. “Typical.”

“Forgive me, I wasn’t planning on spending my evening in a giant refrigerator,” Danny shot back bitterly.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “I suppose you’re expecting me to offer you my coat like some boy walking you home from Prom?” He had to admit that it was tempting to make the offer. He wanted to be able to give Danny a part of him, even if it was just for practical purposes. He suddenly wished that he _could_ be offering a coat to Danny while he walked him home from Prom. He wondered how their relationship would have turned out if they had grown up and gone to school together. He quickly dismissed the idea, surprised with himself. It had come completely out of nowhere and of course that wasn’t what he wanted.

Danny sneered. “I wouldn’t take it if you paid me.”

Thomas tried not to acknowledge that he was also liking Danny’s defiance. “Well, we’re not getting out of here anytime soon,” he countered, and Danny raised an eyebrow.

“You’re finally admitting you’ve been wrong this whole time?”

He was good at turning everything he said to his favour, that was for sure. Thomas scowled. “I wouldn’t go that far, but trying to escape is clearly futile.” He paused for a few seconds. “Your turn. What do you want to do?”

Danny shrugged. “Maybe we can look for something to eat?”

Thomas suddenly realised just how hungry he really was. He had been planning to buy some food on his way home from the set, but so far he had been far too distracted by Danny to even think about food. “You had a good idea for once,” he remarked. “There’s bound to be leftovers _somewhere_ in this building.”

He led them through the set in silence for another few minutes until they finally found a room set up with fancy dining tables covered in expensive-looking food. He didn’t have high hopes for the food, which Danny confirmed, picking up a few separate items.

“Fake food?” he said sadly.  “I really wanted this chocolate-covered strawberry…”

Thomas grimaced, internally agreeing that the strawberry _did_ look delicious. Admittedly, by now everything looked delicious. “Useless,” he spat. “ _Everything_ in this warehouse is useless.” Even he was beginning to feel pretty useless. He was hungry, tired, fed up, and just wanted to be away from Danny so that he could think properly. He kicked at a nearby table leg, wishing he could think of a way out.

“Wait,” Danny said suddenly, “I see a catering cart.” Thomas looked up as Danny grabbed something off the cart and brought it over to him. “Looks like this is it,” he said, handing him a bagel.

He sat down at the table and Thomas slowly sat down opposite him, taking a small bite of his bagel. It was stale, but he was hungry enough to take a few more bites. He kept his eyes low, focussing on a random spot on the table, and thought about the reality of spending the rest of the night trapped in the warehouse with Danny. Danny was definitely right - he wasn’t making it any more comfortable by being so cold towards him. They were going to have to talk sometime.

He sighed, dropping his bagel down on the table and looking back up at Danny. “All right. Fine. Let’s talk.”

Danny placed his own bagel down, noticeably shocked. “Really? Mr. I Don’t Want To Talk to Danny All Day wants to _talk?!_ ”

Thomas folded his arms on the table. “We’re stuck here all night, and I know you’re not going to let up,” he explained. “Let’s just get this out of the way. What do you want to know?”

“Um, _everything_ ,” Danny said, leaning forward.

Thomas leant back in his chair. “You’re going to have to narrow it down a bit.”

Danny have a small sigh and thought for a few seconds. “I want to know about your feelings.”

“You already know enough,” he shot back immediately, and Danny glowered at him.

“I _know_ you feel something for me, but I don’t understand why you can’t just tell me that now.”

Thomas felt his face warm slightly and leant forward. “Fine. You want to know how I actually feel?” he asked. “I’ll tell you even though it won’t make the slightest difference.” He took a deep breath, Danny’s eyes fixed on his, and tried to think of the right way to word his feelings. Danny had been driving him mad for far too long and he hoped he could get his words out clearly. He had a feeling the second he started talking everything would just come out, which he didn’t want, but maybe it was worth it just to clear the air. Besides, the way Danny was looking at him was irresistible. The way his eyes were bearing in his, exposing his pure sincerity and desperation… “I feel--”

He was cut off as the lights in the warehouse suddenly shut off and he and Danny were plunged into darkness. Danny gave a small squeak in surprise, then they were both silent. Thomas could hear each of Danny’s breaths, less than a meter away from his face, and swallowed nervously.

“The power must’ve turned off for the night. We should light these candles,” he suggested quietly.

He heard Danny scoff. “Wait, you were going to tell me how you feel about me!”

Thomas cringed, making sure his voice was level before he spoke. “That was almost a moment of weakness. It won’t happen again.”


	8. The Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter continues the second date; The Reluctant Professor

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” Danny growled angrily.

“I’m not,” Thomas said firmly, reaching to his left, hoping he remembered the layout of the table correctly. His hand closed around a box of matches, which he opened. He pulled out a match and struck it against the side of the box, then used the light to find a few nearby candles, which he lit. He made out Danny’s face in the flickering light, an unamused scowl etched across it.

“‘Cause everyone just has matches on them. That’s normal,” he said flatly.

“They were on the table. What have I told you about being observant?”

“We’re not in class right now,” Danny replied sharply. “You don’t have to teach me all the time.”

Thomas clenched his fists, irritated. “But I do. It’s my _job_ to always push you, to be firm if it means you reaching your full potential.”

“So you _do_ care about me.”

“As a student,” Thomas seethed. “This thing you feel for me, it’s just a crush,” he said quickly. “It’s fake love, the kind people eat up at the movies.” He knew he was just letting his frustration out on Danny, but he was sure there was at least an element of truth to what he was saying. “Look around this set,” he continued harshly. “None of this is real, yet when the movie comes out, people will swoon for the romance as though real love can be like that. But it’s all fake.”

“My feelings for you are _not_ fake,” Danny snapped, sounding _almost_ as angry as Thomas felt. “What I feel for you is more than just a Hollywood romance. It’s real. And _real_ feelings are about spending time with someone and enjoying their company, even when you’re just eating stale bagels together.” He was silent for a moment before adding, “Even when the other person is being ridiculously stubborn.”

They glared at each other for a few minutes, the flickering light from the candles only making Danny look more serious. Thomas had heard Danny say some intelligent things in the time he’d known him, but this was by far the most sensible. He was speechless for almost a minute, trying to find any fault in what Danny had said.

“For once, I may have underestimated you, Danny,” he eventually said, slowly.

“Yeah, just this _once_ ,” Danny replied, shaking. Thomas could see why he might be frustrated, but he had no reason to be _that_ angry.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “Why are you shaking?”

“I’m fine,” Danny answered resentfully. “It’s just cold in here.”

So it wasn’t the anger making him shiver. Thomas sighed, then unbuttoned his jacket. He slipped it off and held it out over the table.

“I thought offering me a jacket was beneath you,” Danny said condescendingly.

“Even I’m allowed to change my mind occasionally.”

At Thomas’ tone, Danny’s expression softened slightly. He gave him a small but grateful smile and took the jacket, pulling it on. It was a little big for him, but otherwise Thomas thought it looked nice.

“Thank you,” Danny said, his voice warmer. “But what about you?”

Thomas gave a small shrug. “I’ll be fine for now, but it’s going to get colder in here.” He stood up and took a candle from the table, motioning for Danny to follow him. “Come on. We’ll see if wardrobe has something warmer.”

Danny grabbed his own candle and stayed close behind Thomas as they ventured further into the set. Thomas tried his hardest not to shiver, for fear that Danny would try to give him his jacket back. At least his shirt was still long-sleeved. However much he secretly liked Danny in a t-shirt - especially tighter ones, like the one he was wearing today, which he tried _not_ to think - he knew that he could hold out for longer without the jacket. He cupped his free hand around the flame of the candle, hoping it would warm him up, even if only slightly. Eventually Danny’s voice broke the silence.

“Okay, so you’re not going to tell me about your feelings, I get that. But we can at least try to get to know each other a little better.”

Thomas gave a small, resigned shake of his head. “Go ahead. Ask me something.”

Danny thought for a moment before asking, “What made you love movies?”

It was a question that Thomas had answered countless times in interviews, but one that he had never expected from Danny. It was surprisingly… mature. “I’ve loved movies for as long as I can remember,” he answered. “If a theater full of strangers of all ages and backgrounds can laugh together and cry together and _learn_ together, well, then maybe we’re not so doomed as a species after all. Movies give me hope.”

“That’s actually really sweet.” He could hear Danny’s smile behind him.

“Well, _good_ movies,” he clarified.

“Of course,” Danny agreed. “So you say you’ve always loved movies… Even when you were a kid?”

“What is this, an interview?”

Danny chuckled. “Go on. What was your childhood like?”

“Typical, I suppose,” Thomas shrugged. “I have a huge family, and I used to make my siblings and cousins act out the screenplays I wrote.”

“So you were a brutal director from a young age?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied shortly. “Although I did once make my oldest cousin cry… but she wasn’t reading the part with enough _ennui_.” He gave a small shake of his head at the memory.

“Even as a child, you were just _delightful_ , huh?” Danny remarked, humour obvious in his tone. “What do you do in your spare time?”

“Spare time?” Thomas scoffed. “I haven’t had spare time in over a decade,” he answered quickly.

“Really?” Danny sounded surprised. “You’re _always_ working? What do you do to relax?”

“I try to keep up with what my past students are doing… movies they’ve made, books they’ve written, songs produced.” He gave a half smile, glad that Danny couldn’t see his face. “If something is particularly worthy, I’ll send them a critique.”

“So there really is no escape from your insults, huh?”

Thomas considered the question for a few seconds, thinking especially about all the insults he threw at Danny and his work. “If I stop insulting your work, it means I don’t care anymore.”

He half expected Danny to make another comment about how he must care, but he was silent. After a few more seconds, he stopped and turned around.

“What? Surely you have more you’d like to ask.”

A smirk played at the edges of Danny’s lips. “Alright, then. Boxers or briefs?”

Thomas rolled his eyes, turning back and starting to walk again. “That is a highly inappropriate question, Danny.”

“You said I could ask you anything.”

“I said you could ask _something_. Not anything. Those are two vastly different things.” That had been the sort of question he had initially expected, though. Nonetheless, he could feel his cheeks warming, and even more so at the challenge in Danny’s tone.

“So now you’re backing out?” he said. “Typical. I thought you were a man of your word.”

“Fine, fine…” he muttered. “Boxer briefs. Satisfied?”

“Never,” Danny answered, predictably. “But this will do for now.”

Thomas continued to lead them in further silence, until they finally came to another set. His eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see the room without holding the candle too far out in front of him, so he looked around from the entrance. In the center of the set was a large heart-shaped bed and rose petals covered the floor. It wasn’t an ideal setup for being alone with Danny, but at least it meant blankets.

“Looks like we won’t have to go to wardrobe for blankets,” he remarked, as Danny looked around.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, noticing the bed. “Well, this is… unexpected. I guess they go on their honeymoon in the movie, huh?”

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” Thomas said quickly, not wanting to even risk the possibility of Danny trying to get him to share the bed.

Danny, who was closer to the bed, grabbed a pillow and a blanket and held them out to him. Their hands touched while he took them, and Thomas gasped.

“Your hands are freezing, Danny.”

Danny hesitated, before taking a step closer to him. “Well, I’ll be warmer on the floor next to you.”

Thomas was quiet for a moment. He had expected Danny to take the bed, but he was hardly surprised he had suggested they sleep closer together. He definitely wasn’t comfortable with them sharing the bed, but maybe the floor wouldn’t be too bad. He could always send Danny to the bed once he had warmed up, or move away from him after he was asleep. He sighed.

“Fine. But I’m only doing this so you don’t die of hypothermia.” He placed the pillow and blanket down on the floor. “And once you’re warm enough, you can sleep on the bed. It shouldn’t go to waste.”

“Got it,” Danny nodded.

They sat down and Thomas awkwardly wrapped the blanket around Danny, who he realised was still wearing his jacket. Danny shifted closer to him, leaning against his side. He moved his arm behind Danny, letting him huddle closer and rest his head on Thomas’ shoulder.

“First time sleeping on a set?” he asked.

Thomas smiled. “You’d be surprised. When I first started out, I pulled a lot of all-nighters. Sometimes I’d get so tired that I’d just sleep on set.”

“Really? It’s hard to picture _the_ Thomas Hunt hunkered down with a blanket in the middle of the night…” He turned his head to look at Thomas, their faces just centimetres apart. “Although I guess that’s what you’re doing now, so it’s actually pretty easy to picture.”

Thomas gave a small shiver, Danny’s breath tickling his chin as he spoke. “There were some rough times back then, but it was worth it.” Danny put his head back down on his shoulder. “Anything’s worth it when you’re doing what you love,” Thomas mused, feeling Danny relax against him. He gave a small sigh, not having the heart to make Danny move to the bed. He gently lowered Danny onto the floor, placing a pillow under his head, deciding to make himself more comfortable. He took off his tie and his belt, and undid the top few buttons of his shirt, before lying down next to Danny. He was freezing, but couldn’t be bothered getting up again to grab himself a blanket, so he carefully eased the blanket out from under Danny and lay it over both of them. He snuggled as close to him as he dared, and tried not to think about how right it felt to fall asleep next to him.


	9. The Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter concludes the second date; The Reluctant Professor

It wasn’t the first night Thomas had dreamt about Danny. There was nothing particularly distinct about the dream, and he probably wouldn’t remember anything clear about it once he woke up, but for once he wouldn’t have described it as a _bad_ dream. His dreams about Danny were usually plagued by longing and missed opportunities and his own conflicted feelings, but this time it was… nice. His mind was at peace as they talked and danced and held each other close. He felt no guilt about pressing soft kisses against Danny’s lips and murmuring sweet nonsense into his ear.

It couldn’t last, of course. Eventually Danny had to pull back and turn away from him with a sad smile. He begged him to stay, but he began to walk away and no matter how fast Thomas tried to run after him, he didn’t seem to get any closer. Danny finally stopped, but he still couldn’t reach him, no matter how hard he tried, until he gave up, sinking to his knees in despair. It seemed like Danny was right in front of him, yet infinitely far away, but he still leant down to whisper in Thomas’ ear.

“Do you have feelings for me?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately. “Yes!” He repeated the word, pleading as he grew more desperate for Danny to understand.

“Thomas…” Danny breathed, leaning in towards him.

“ _Yes…_ ” He smiled as he was finally able to pull Danny back into his arms and they drew closer and closer, until…

Thomas gave a small gasp as a bright light filled his vision and he forced his eyes open, looking right back into Danny’s expectant face. He did a double take, his dream still fresh in his mind, before realising that Danny looked as though he was waiting for something.

“Wha-- Danny?” He blinked. “Were you just asking me something?” His voice was rough and he cleared his throat, as Danny gave a quick shake of his head.

“Oh! Uh… no!” he answered, surprised for some reason. “Nothing important…”

Thomas gave a small start at a noise coming from elsewhere in the warehouse, and everything from the previous night suddenly came back to him. He looked away from Danny as he felt his face flush. “Sounds like someone’s _finally_ here. Let’s go.” He quickly got to his feet and groaned, stretching his arms and his back. He glanced at Danny, who gave him a shy smile, and he realised that this was probably the most unprofessional he had ever looked around any of his students. The top of his shirt was hanging open and his hair was a mess, and Danny held up his tie and belt for him. He swiftly rebuttoned his shirt and snatched the items from him, pulling on his belt and starting to do up his tie as he strode out of the set and back into the main body of the warehouse.

As he approached the exit, he glared at the startled woman who had walked in, without speaking to her. Finally stepping out of the warehouse, he was met with an animated Ethan, who was ranting at a young man who Thomas had seen on the site the previous day. Upon seeing Thomas, Ethan stopped talking and gave the man a stern look, before turning to Thomas and jogging over to him.

“Professor!” he exclaimed. “Are you alright? Where’s Danny?” he asked, not giving him a chance to answer the first question. “I didn’t realise you were here, too, but I’ve been trying to reach him all night. Here, this must be yours.” He pulled a phone out of his pocket and handed it to Thomas. “They gave me two and I didn’t know whose this was.”

Thomas quickly skimmed through his missed notifications and sighed, seeing almost a dozen texts and calls from Priya. “Thank you, Ethan,” he muttered, pocketing his phone. “Danny’s fine. He’s just taking a little longer to wake up.”

Ethan gave a small chuckle. “That sounds about right.”

As he spoke, Danny wandered out of the warehouse, blinking at the bright morning light. In an instant, Ethan had run over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. Thomas watched as they exchanged a whispered conversation, before sharing a brief kiss, and he looked away.

“Are you cold, Danny?” Ethan asked, and Thomas turned back to see him indicating the jacket that he was still wearing. His cheeks warmed ever so slightly, as his eyes met Danny’s for a moment. Danny slipped the jacket off and walked back over to Thomas, holding it out to him. He quickly pulled it on, a soft smell left in the air that must have been Danny.

He cleared his throat, gruffly. “Thank you. I’m going to have to iron this now,” he sighed. “You should have been more careful with it.”

Danny pouted. “I _slept_ in it. Maybe next time I’ll freeze to death instead. Although…” He gave a small smile. “I think the body heat thing worked pretty well.”

Thomas shot Danny a warning look, and Ethan raised an eyebrow.

“Anyway,” the agent said quickly. “Danny, you can take mine until I get you back home, okay?”

He unbuttoned his suit jacket and handed it to Danny, who put it on over his t-shirt. “Thanks,” he grinned, leaning forward to give Ethan a lingering kiss. Thomas didn’t hide his scowl at the display of affection. He knew that, as well as being genuinely happy to see Ethan, Danny was trying to make a point to him. The most physically intimate they had been was while they were sleeping, and since the Masquerade Ball, Thomas was sure they had both been longing for another kiss. When the two pulled apart, Ethan wound his arm around Danny’s waist and turned back to Thomas.

“Do you need a lift anywhere, Professor?” he asked, unfazed by his cold expression.

“No, I have my car,” he answered quickly. “I’ll see you both in class.”

As he began to walk away, Danny called after him.

“Wait, Thom-- Professor!” He felt Danny’s hand tug at his arm and he looked back at him. “Thank you.” He froze as Danny’s arms wrapped around him, and his mouth moved close to his ear. “I know last night wasn’t easy. Thank you for opening up to me.” His lips brushed Thomas’ cheek in a way that wouldn’t have been obvious to Ethan, and he pulled away. “I’ll see you on Monday,” he said, his expression smug.

Thomas have a short nod and briskly walked off in the direction of his parked car. He had far too much on his mind to spend anymore unnecessary time with Danny. He was going to really need the weekend to get his thoughts together, that was for sure. It wasn’t going to be as bad as the last weekend, but he knew it wasn’t going to be an easy few days.

* * *

Deciding that he didn’t want a repeat of the previous weekend, he went straight to his study upon arriving home. Luckily, he had a lot of papers to grade and those would hopefully keep him busy until the lowest of his moods passed. He could distract himself with the tedium of reading through his students’ mediocre attempts at essays. He sighed, frowning as he picked up the first paper and began reading.

“Weak introduction,” he muttered to himself, quickly scribbling down his criticism in a red pen and starting to forget about Danny, taking out any leftover frustration in his marking.

A few papers in, his eyes flickered over the name at the top of the page - _Daniel Nelsen_ \- and he quickly pushed the essay to the bottom of the pile. He didn’t need any reminders. Gritting his teeth and toughening his grip on the pen, he continued through the other pages of text, his criticisms becoming harsher the more he wrote.

About an hour in, he threw the pen down and pushed the pile of papers to the far side of his desk. He knew he was hard enough on his students for it to be fair for him to take out his feelings on them in this kind of situation. Scowling, he let his head rest in his hands as his mind wandered. Everything from the warehouse streamed through it, but it eventually settled on that morning, when they had woken up. He thought about the look on Danny’s face when he had opened his eyes - surprised and expectant, as if something had just happened that he liked but hadn’t been expecting. Then there was the fact that the look had been directed at him… And Danny had answered far too suspiciously when he had questioned if Danny had asked him something. Of course, it would be just his luck if Danny _had_ asked him something and he had just happened to give an answer in his sleep. He desperately thought back, trying to remember what he had been dreaming about, but to no avail.

Thomas gave a small shake of his head and stood up, walking out of the study and into his bedroom, sitting heavily on the side of his bed. He grabbed his journal and a pen off his nightstand and flipped through to his section on Danny.

‘ _Of all the students to be stuck with in a studio for hours on end_ ,’ he began writing, ‘ _it had to be Danny_.’ He sighed drumming his fingers on the side of the notebook. ‘ _It took every ounce of willpower I had, but I managed to keep my feelings hidden_.’

He was jolted out of his writing by his phone vibrating in his pocket, and he checked to see an incoming call from Richard Sheridan. Letting out a small groan, he reluctantly answered the call and lifted the phone to his ear.

“Hey Thomas!” Richard’s cheerful voice rang into his ear. “I have a favour to ask you!”

“Of course you do,” Thomas muttered.

“Look,” Richard continued, ignoring Thomas’ bitter tone, “you know my daughter, Aria. She’s organised a Celebrity Date Auction, and--”

“Absolutely not!” Thomas interrupted, and Richard laughed.

“C’mon, Thomas, it’s for charity! All the funds raised are going towards the Save the Great Barrier Reef foundation, which she’s really put her heart and soul into. You may not be as big in the industry as you once were…” That earned a scowl from Thomas. “...but you’re still recognised as one of Hollywood’s hottest singles. It’s just one night!”

“Email me the details. I’ll consider it,” Thomas conceded, and quickly hung up. Of course he would give in and accept. It was for charity, after all, and it wasn’t as if he had anything better to do.

He yawned and glanced at the clock on his phone. It was only around 7.30 in the morning, so it wouldn’t mess up the rest of his day too much if he took a short nap. After all, he may have slept well in the warehouse, but he hadn’t slept for long. He pulled off his jacket, shirt, and jeans, and slipped under the blankets, quickly drifting off.


End file.
